AuthorTopic: Very Important: importing PNG-files! (Read 13025 times)

Programming is Steve's hobby just like modeling and animating is our hobby. Now, why would anyone expect Steve to hand over his hobby and his baby to others ?

So that many more features would be added quicker ? Features that may never be explored nor learned by Anim8or users just like there are already so many possibilities in the program that are never learned nor used or even known of by current modelers.

Frankly, I'm quite fed up with these requests for more additions to Anim8or just because someone read somewhere that such and such program has them. So if they need these features now then use those programs, there's no law against it.

Really good points there, lynn... No reason to whine about what Steve hasn'tmput into this program, because if someone wants to compare it to another/is more comfortable with another, they might as well go with the other one. I think scripts can handle the no updates/added features ordeal, though.

I agree that mindlessly asking for additions is annoying and probably a distraction to Steve (if he reads such requests), especially as more interesting/important suggestions might be missed as a result. Whining due to the pace of development, or about decisions on what's included or not - that is also unproductive.

However, I believe that it would be a terrible pity were anim8or to remain as it is now. There are things that could be done to improve it for its own sake. For instance, I haven't found a free 3D program with a renderer nearly as advanced as anim8or's, possibly povray as an exception but personally I think anim8or's is better. Adding PNG with support for its transparency would make anim8or that much better again - I can't see how it'd be a bad thing in any way.

Also, yes this is Steve's hobby, his creation and he owns it. While he wants to work on it, however slowly, and take it the direction he wants it to go, well that's totally his right. When Kyle suggested making it open source, he was responding to the suggestion that perhaps Steve's given up and anim8or development is dead. I really hope that isn't the case, but if it is I'd also prefer to see it open sourced - or development passed to someone else that Steve trusts - than just frozen, overtaken (eventually) by other open source projects and finally fade into obscurity. Anim8or deserves better than that, and personally I'd rather keep using it than be forced at some point to learn another program

He's a busy man. He has a full time job. Many people, being currently in school, or perhaps without full time jobs may not realize this. His job takes up the majority of his time and I'm sure he has a life beyond that as well. He love Anim8or and this community, he just can't dedicate all his time to it. He is still active, simply not everyday.

If you have a .png file with transparency, you can extract the trans map and convert it to a grayscale image using an image editor, and then load it up as a trans map in Anim8or, then convert the .png to jpg or bmp and load that up in the diffuse or whatever material slots required. Voila.

Probably the best option that I've found so far is to use other modeling tools in conjuntion with Anim8or where it is lacking something. Even Studio Max users do this as Max is apparently lacking in some areas as well. No one software is actually perfect enough to do everything. Anim8or, is what it is...simply amazing. My hat's off to Steve for what he's created....

This topic was about importing .PNG files, and my post was about extracting the alpha channel in a .PNG file so that you can load it up in the material's transparency channel, so that you can get the same behavior as if you were able to use the .PNG file as a texture w/ alpha in the first place.

ART and Scanline both support transparency, and can render the alpha channel and depth channel. However, texture-based transparency does not render out to alpha or depth channels, nor are shadows affected by it.

Also may I add;png's are much better- they can support many different compressions, including lossless to even NO compression at all- they can support multiple layers- they can have program specific data saved right into it (fireworks saves all of its effects and commands on a standard png save)- they are a uniformed standard file extension- they support alpha channel (as said before)- they support hidden layers (same thing as program data in it)(lightning BOOOOMMM!!! good thing Im on the laptop)- they also support better interlacing- they also support waaaaaaay more colours than many other image types- they also support gamma correctionand much more!

Now of course its up to steve to implement all these features

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!stuff just fell off my desk! and I think my ears are deadI just saw the worlds brightest lightning, and now my eyes hurtthis lightning storm is dangerous INDOORS

but yes, png support would the be a great addition,it would save so much more time from having to convert every single piece of data, and it would save in the gigs of images I have